If Things Had Been Different
by Loveless1310
Summary: I think we could have been friends, if we had been raised differently." The final battle is here between The Chosen One and The Dark Lord. Come and see how it ends.


So... I've been having a lot of ideas for fanfics involving Draco because he has become my newest obsession... Anyway... I don't own Harry Potter (Sadly, I wish I could own Draco but I don't think it will happen.) This really isn't meant to be slash! I promise! That's not what I was going for! But it could probably be seen that way. I wrote it and I almost see it that way... But it really isn't that bad at all. Friendship and companionship, not romance... Anyway. Hope you enjoy.

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The battle raged on around them. It was intense and exhausting. There had never been one of such magnitude in the history of the wizarding world and there would probably never be one like it again.

The sky was filled with flashing lights of reds, greens, whites, and various other colors from the hexes being thrown around. There were cries of pain, anger, frustration, agony. Everything just seemed to circulate around the fighting. Bodies kept dropping to the ground around them. Too many faces, both good and bad, lying lifeless on the ground. Their eyes vacant of all light.

The destruction was incredible. The once great school of Hogwarts was reduced to almost nothing as the battle waged on with no end in sight. Both sides had taken heavy losses but neither of the leaders were giving up.

The Chosen One led with no fear in his heart. Not anymore. He had lost everything dear to him and just wanted the fighting to end.

The Dark Lord was completely crazy now and demanded of his follows their lives in order to win the battle. He didn't want to admit he was losing.

Both were much too stubborn to try and see a way to end this peacefully. They would watch every last one of their followers die before the thought even occurred to them that the fighting didn't have to go this way.

Finally, after the battle had gone on for days, the leader of the "Dark" side stepped forward, out of the shadows, his eyes surveying the surrounding area. There was a hint of sadness for a moment if anyone had looked in his eyes but they were always afraid too. He did love Hogwarts. It was truly his home and he was sad to see what had happened to it. But sacrifices had to be made to see his vision through to the end. He knew this and had prepared himself for it.

The leader of the "Light" side stepped up as he watched his nemesis walk from the shadows. He glanced at the pale, inhumane, face with the cold eyes which stared back at him. With out any hesitation they both proceeded to the center of the battler field. They were standing on the frozen lake, something the mermaids had done when the battle started to protect their city from the destruction above.

The world seemed to slow as they took their places opposite each other and all eyes fell on them. The fighting around them had died out completely as both sides watch the two men. They bowed to each other, for even in battle, they regarded the rules of engagement, and then took a fighting stance, wands posed and ready.

Their eyes met, emerald on silver, and for a moment, the world around them dissolved. For a brief instance, they were back at school and this just another of their childish quarrels. Then the moment was gone and they were brought back to the present. One must die tonight, if not both.

Harry Potter inwardly sighed. He had long since accepted the fact that Draco Malfoy had become the next Dark Lord and leader of the Death Eaters. That had probably been the straw that broke the camels back of Harry's sanity and grip on reality. They had once been friends. They had once been able to share secrets with each other that no one else would have understood.

That all died when Voldemort was killed. Harry had seen Draco start to slip away when he had had to kill the Dark Lord himself to protect Harry. His mind shattered completely when his parents abandoned him and then were killed. Harry had watched as someone he considered one of his best friends slowly lost their mind and broke into pieces. Draco turned his back on a world that never truly accepted him and that was why they were all here tonight.

The Death Eaters had rejoiced when someone came and took Voldemort's place as the new Dark Lord. Draco had quickly gathered followers, using his charm and cunning to appeal to a much wider variety of people. His plans were much bigger then Voldemort's had been. Voldemort wanted the muggles and half-breeds to pay and be destroyed. Draco just wanted to leave the world in ruin, destroying everything and everyone.

And now this was the last chance the world had to be saved from this maniac. Harry and Draco stood only a few feet apart now, only cold, indifference showing in their eyes. Harry couldn't stop him before but he was determined to kill Draco with his own wand and then hopefully he could drift off as well. Maybe they would take mercy and put Harry out of his misery after it was all said and done.

"Potter." Came the snarl that had been vacant for so long.

"Malfoy." Was Harry's cold reply.

And with those two words uttered, the real show began. They fired hex after hex at each other. Sometimes being able to block or dodge the oncoming attack and sometimes just letting it hit them. After half an hour, both were blood and exhausted, breathing in pants to try and catch their breath.

Harry knew his energy was wavering and that he'd soon be unable to fight but he saw Draco's tired stance and knew the other boy… man couldn't take much more either. Harry once again stood up straight, as did Draco. Harry saw it in Draco's eyes. The end was here, now. This one last attack would determine if the world would receive salvation or crumble to the ground around them.

As if cued by some invisible force, they both shouted at once. "Sectumsempra!" "Protego!" They shout in unison. Harry didn't even try to avoid the spell as it hit his shield and reflected back at Malfoy. But the shield was weak with exhaustion and hit Harry as well, though not as sever.

Malfoy dropped to the ground, laying on his back and looking up at the sky. He could feel the long gashes of the spell digging into his flesh and felt the blood pouring out. He didn't much care anymore though. It was over.

Harry felt like it was his 6th year all over again. Finding Malfoy in the bathroom and then using Sectumsempra for the first time. It had scared Harry. Seeing Malfoy with so much blood all over the place. Harry hadn't spoken to anyone for a while after that.

This time however, Harry just walked up to Malfoy and looked at him with a small amount of pity showing in his cold eyes. Draco looked up at Harry and the ghost of a smile came to his face. There was something shining in Draco's eyes that made Harry's own soften as he looked at the man. He kneeled down and took Draco in his arms.

"You know," Draco started, gasping for breath as his lungs were no doubt filling with blood. "I think… we could…" a small coughing fit. "could have been friends." He looked Harry in the eyes now. "If things… had been different… My family different… we could have been… friends through school… Maybe none of this…" He vaguely moved his hand around him to indicate the garish scene around them. "Would have… Happened." He finished (take the "…" as coughs or gasp for air.)

Harry just looked down at him. He believed that too. Maybe if they had both been raised better or differently they could have started out their first year at Hogwarts as best friends. "I think I would have liked that." Harry said, still looking into Draco's silver eyes. They seemed to be dulling slightly, the light escaping their depths once more.

A single tear slid down Draco's cheek as he gave one last smile to his first and only real best friend. Harry felt the corners of is mouth turn upward in a small smile, something he hadn't done in years.

It was only when Draco's eyes were lifeless that Harry realized his own pained muscles and bleeding wounds. He looked down at his body as his vision began to blur. He could vaguely see gashes from the Sectumsempra that Draco had used against him. It now registered that he had been bleeding profusely for a few minutes now and the blood loss was slowly dizzying him.

Harry reached a shaking hand out to Draco's face and closed his eyes. He then collapsed beside Draco and closed his own eyes, never to open them again he hoped.

When the spectators recovered from the shock and went to inspect the bodies, they found Draco wrapped in Harry's arms and both had small content smiles on their faces.

When Harry once again opened his eyes, the light was too bright at first. Like he'd been in the dark for a very long time and was finally able to enter into the light. He felt soft grass beneath his hands and slowly looked around as his vision began to clear of the bright, white dots. The place was very familiar to Harry. It should be. In front of him was the giant lake and to his back, the forbidden forest stood. It was not as he expected it would be. The last time he was here it was in ruins and now the school and everything around it seemed to be in perfect condition.

He blinked a few times to try and dissolve this allusion away but it was still there every time he opened his eyes. He heard a familiar voice and he jumped in surprise. The voice was soft and didn't have that malice that he'd heard for the first years of attending Hogwarts nor did it hold the emotionless tone that's had been their in the end. No, this voice was calm and gentle and reassuring. The voice Harry had grown to cherish when the world was falling apart around him.

"Potter. Are you going to sit there all day?" Asked Draco Malfoy as he walked up to the tree Harry was sitting under. Draco looked like he had at the end of their 7th year. His eyes burning with real emotions and his golden-white hair almost glowing in the sun light. He was wearing his normal Slytherin robes and was smiling at Harry.

"We've been waiting for you." Came a voice from behind Draco. "Both of you." Hermione said as she placed her hand on Draco's shoulder and gave him a warm smile. They then both looked at Harry and held their hands out to him.

Smiling from ear to ear, he took their hands and they pulled him up. Once he was standing, Harry could see much more faces then he thought there were. He saw so many people that had been last in the war. Seamus Finingan, Neville Longbottom, Cho Chang, Hanna Abbot, the entire Weasley family, Hermione. They all looked just like he had remembered them to be.

Hermione ran off back to the group and Draco stood beside Harry. "It's finally over." Draco said, smiling one of his rare, genuine smiles. He sounded so relieved and happy to say those words.

Harry nodded beside him, unable to say anything. A tear slid down his cheek and he heard Ron call his name. This just made Harry smile more as he grabbed Draco's hand and ran to the group, looking, for a moment, like two little kids running off to go play in the park.

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I'm sorry but I can't spell the names to save my life and I'm to lazy to to look it up right now. I just had the idea that if Draco turned bad then he'd be the next Dark Lord and this is what came of it. I might do more parts to this. Go more in depth about the down fall of Voldemort and how Harry and Draco became friends and Draco's slow slip into insanity. If I feel like it anyway.

Review if you want to see it continued some or if you hated it or if you loved it think its fine the way it is........ Really review for any reason. I don't really care.

Love you all dear readers! And of course I love Draco Malfoy. Which reminds me, what is Draco's middle name?


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